Congressional Record, Volume 147 Issue 70 (Monday, May 21, 2001)

[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 70 (Monday, May 21, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5260-S5262]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Energy
Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 1696
regarding construction of the World War II memorial, and the Senate
proceed to its immediate consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk
will report the bill by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:

A bill (H.R. 1696) to expedite the construction of the
World War II memorial in the District of Columbia.

There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise to ask the Senate to act on this,
as we have just done. I am honored to do so on behalf of the few in the
Senate who served in World War II, Senators Inouye and Stevens, with
great distinction, I myself with very modest service beginning in 1945
during the closing months of the war.
This memorial is long overdue in recognition of the enormous
sacrifice of the men and women of the U.S. military; and, indeed, it is
a symbol of the

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sacrifices of an entire generation, not only those who went abroad to
the battlefields but those here at home and their families.
Mr. President, our former colleague, Robert Dole, was very
instrumental in seeing that the financial package and other aspects on
this memorial were successful.
Mr. REID. I also say to my friend, I have been impressed with how
hard you, Senator Inouye, and Senator Stevens have worked on this
important issue.

Amendment No. 745

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I understand there is an amendment at the
desk submitted by Senator Stevens and Senator Inouye, myself, and
others, and I ask for its immediate consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:

The Senator from Virginia [Mr. Warner], for Mr. Stevens,
for himself, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Hollings, Mr.
Murkowski, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Thurmond, Mr. Thomas, Ms.
Collins, and Mr. Warner, proposes an amendment numbered 745.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of
the amendment be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:

(Purpose: To provide a complete substitute)

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:

SECTION 1. APPROVAL OF WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL SITE AND DESIGN.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the World War
II Memorial described in plans approved by the Commission of
Fine Arts on July 20, 2000 and November 16, 2000, and
selected by the National Capital Planning Commission on
September 21, 2000 and December 14, 2000, and in accordance
with the special use permit issued by the Secretary of the
Interior on January 23, 2001, and numbered NCR-NACC-5700-
0103, shall be constructed expeditiously at the dedicated
Rainbow Pool site in the District of Columbia in a manner
consistent with such plans and permits, subject to design
modifications, if any, approved in accordance with applicable
laws and regulations.

SEC. 2. APPLICATION OF COMMEMORATIVE WORKS ACT.

Elements of the memorial design and construction not
approved as of the date of enactment of this Act shall be
considered and approved in accordance with the requirements
of the Commemorative Works Act (40 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.).

SEC. 3. JUDICIAL REVIEW.

The decision to locate the memorial at the Rainbow Pool
site in the District of Columbia and the actions by the
Commission of Fine Arts on July 20, 2000 and November 16,
2000, the actions by the National Capital Planning Commission
on September 21, 2000 and December 14, 2000, and the issuance
of the special use permit identified in section 1 shall not
be subject to judicial review.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I believe that it is time to honor the
sacrifices of the World War II generation. Eight years after Congress
authorized the construction of this memorial, and six years from the
first of 22 public hearings on its site and design, the memorial's
construction remains delayed by a procedural issue involving the
National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), one of the agencies
required by law to approve the memorial, and a lawsuit filed by a small
group of opponents. This legislation would remove those obstacles and
require the construction process to promptly go forward.
The legislation accomplishes that goal as follows:
Through sections one and three, the site and design for the World War
II Memorial are finalized, expeditious construction is directed, and
the prospect of further delay through judicial challenges or other re-
considerations of the selected site and design are eliminated. Section
one also includes a provision regarding design modifications which is
solely intended to address the highly unlikely event that a technical
impossibility could occur in the course of construction that might
require a limited deviation from the selected design. In light of the
careful review the existing plans have already been subject to by the
memorial's design, engineering, and construction management
professionals, the General Services Administration (GSA), the American
Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), the National Park Service (NPS),
the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) and the National Capital Planning
Commission (NCPC), no exercise of this authority is expected. Moreover,
as a result of these provisions, funds donated for the Memorial would
not be diverted to preparation of the additional mock-up of the
Memorial or further presentations on the selected design that have been
requested of the NPS by NCPC to administratively redress that agency's
procedural issue resolved by this legislation.
The second section directs that the procedural steps of the
Commemorative Works Act shall be used for the approval of those few
aspects of the Memorial not already finalized. These items are
essentially the color of the granite, the flag poles, sculptural
elements, the wording of the inscriptions to be placed on the memorial,
and final adjustments to the level of lighting. These matters will be
presented in due course by the NPS, representing the Secretary of the
Interior and acting on behalf of the ABMC, to the two approving
commissions designated by the Commemorative Works Act: the CFA and the
NCPC.
To further place this legislation in context it is important to
briefly describe the extensive, democratic deliberative process through
which the site and design were selected.
After receiving Congressional approval in October 1994 to locate the
Memorial within the National Monumental Core, many public hearings
regarding site selection were conducted including meetings of the
National Capital Memorial Commission (NCMC), (May 9 and June 20, 1995),
the CFA (July 27 and September 19, 1995), and the NCPC (July 27 and
October 5, 1995). In the course of these meetings, the CFA and NCPC, in
consultation with the ABMC and NCMC, reviewed eight proposed sites for
the Memorial. Through review of these proposals, the possibility of
including the Rainbow Pool in the site for the Memorial arose at the
June 20, 1995, NCMC public meeting. As the deliberations continued
pursuant to the Commemorative Works Act, the appropriateness and
potential of the Rainbow Pool as a site for the Memorial became readily
apparent. The Rainbow Pool Site was approved at an open, public meeting
of the CFA on September 19, 1995, and the NCPC on October 5, 1995.
President Clinton formally dedicated the Rainbow Pool site on Veterans'
Day 1995.

In 1996, a national two-stage competition to select the designer for
the Memorial was conducted in accordance with the GSA's Design
Excellence program. Over four hundred entries were reviewed by a
distinguished Evaluation Board that selected six competition finalists.
From these six finalists, a design jury composed of outstanding
architects, landscape architects, architectural critics and WWII
veterans, independently and unanimously recommended a design team
headed by Friedrich St. Florian of the Rhode Island School of Design.
The Evaluation Board concurred and ABMC approved the recommendation on
November 20, 1996. On January 17, 1997, President Clinton announced the
Friedrich St. Florian team as the winning design team, with Leo A.
Daly, a pre-eminent national firm, serving as architect-engineer.
Through the Commemorative Works Act process, the World War II
Memorial design underwent three general phases of public review and
approval: design concept, preliminary design and final design. The
Memorial design has evolved through input and participation by the
reviewing commissions and the public. In particular, at public hearings
held in July of 1997, both the CFA and the NCPC considered Friedrich
St. Florian's initial design concept and reconsidered the approvals of
the Rainbow Pool Site. Both commissions reaffirmed selection of the
Rainbow Pool site on more than one ocassion; however, both also
requested the consideration of substantial changes to the design
concept. The design team subsequently undertook extensive efforts to
address all concerns raised by the reviewing commissions and the
public. Over the course of three years and nine more public meetings,
the Memorial design continued to evolve to its finally approved form.
As a result of the extensive public participation and careful review by
the respective commissions and other governmental agencies, the final
design is one which enhances the site, preserves its historic vistas,
and preserves the Rainbow Pool by restoring it and making it a part of
a national commemorative work.

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Finally, in the course of authorizing this Memorial, Congress asked
the American people to support the project through voluntary donations.
They certainly responded. The memorial fund-raising campaign, under the
leadership of Senator Bob Dole and Frederick W. Smith, Chairman and CEO
of FedEx Corporation, received financial support from half a million
individual Americans, hundreds of corporations and foundations, dozens
of civic, fraternal and professional organizations, 48 state
legislatures, 1,100 schools, and more than 450 veterans groups
representing 11 million veterans providing the funds necessary to
construct the Memorial.
I would like to thank my fellow World War II veterans Senator Inouye,
Senator Thurmond, and Senator Hollings for joining me in this
amendment. I would also like to thank Senator Thompson, Senator
Murkowski, Senator Bingaman, and Senator Thomas for their co-
sponsorship and for their hard work on this important legislation. I
also want to thank the sponsor of this legislation, Congressman Stump,
for all of his work and dedication to insure that World War II veterans
will see the monument to their service. It is my hope that the House
will act quickly on Congressman Stump's bill with our amendment. With
this legislation, we will ensure that the Memorial is created within
the lifetimes of a significant number of those we honor.
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment
be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment (No. 745) was agreed to.
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the bill, as
amended, be advanced to third reading and passed, the motion to
reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements be printed in the
Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The bill (H.R. 1696), as amended, was considered read the third time
and passed.
Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, the Senate today passed H.R. 1696,
legislation authorizing expeditious construction of the World War II
Memorial at the Rainbow Pool site on the National Mall in a manner
consistent with previously approved plans, but ``subject to design
modifications'' that may subsequently be approved by the National
Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts under the
Commemorative Works Act. In rejecting the original House bill in favor
of this legislation, the Senate today recognizes that appropriate
modifications to the design may be warranted. The bill permits the
National Capital Planning Commission to proceed with its plans to view
an on-site mock-up of the memorial and to consider modifications to the
design that will ensure that the memorial respects the open, historic
character of the Mall, that significant vistas are not obstructed, and
that the height and mass of this memorial are appropriate for the site.
Consistent with this legislation, such modifications ought to be
expeditiously considered and approved by the National Capital Planning
Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts so that construction of the
memorial may proceed without undue delay.

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